Im Alfie, Mum and me goes to shows in UK and Europe.We show in HHP Tica.Yu hav been given gud advice Fergie. My mum baths me 2 or 3 days before a show .Im short haired .I like the hair dryer too.
I love traveling in my Car and I love Hotels. Sturdi shelters are good .Easy to set up. Also cosy and Your Own Show / traveling pen too.Always use a CAT / Kitten shampoo for bathing in. Dont use Dog shampoo . De best advice me can giv yu is relax..Dont let yer mum or other people over power you with hugs n kisses ..Jus get yer bearings an Kiss the Judge !! HHP judge usually like that ..grins. Jus hav FUN..No mater wat happens in yer results ..YU is de BEST Cat in de Show Let us know How yu gets on..Good Luck and have Fun. Purrs Alfie

The Jerob House of An-Ju Snowy Blue Shampoo (which is a whitener) is available online, I would presume. It's made by an American company. Same with Groomer's Goop. Unfortunately, both are a bit pricey. For your "first" show, maybe you should just try a mild dish detergent for deep cleansing, and a regular cat shampoo for milder cleansing. I'm not sure if you need a conditioner or not--depends on your fur type. If you want to buy the grooming products I mentioned, search the Internet.

There's a site somewhere on the Internet where some lady gives the measurements for show curtains. Google cat show curtains and you'll eventually find it. Also, I think you can probably find used show curtains on e-Bay, but I'd make sure I had them dry-cleaned before I used them on my cat (germs, tom cat odor).

Sturdi-Shelters are great, but in Japan, you get charged MORE if you use a Sturdi-Shelter than one of the cages they provide! Also, they are quite pricey--over a hundred dollars, I seem to remember. If you really start getting into showing to the point where you travel with your cat, you'll need a Sturdi-Shelter or its equivalent for the hotel. Look on the Internet for a YouTube demonstration of the Sturdi-Shelter so you'll know what it looks like. Somebody told me they got a perfectly good, very light, foldable shelter for hotels at Target for around $20 (originally meant for a dog). SturdiProducts also sells a tent that can be used for hotels and is much cheaper than the shelter, but doesn't have as many uses.

As far as I know, you cannot take a cat into the ring that's not being shown, except perhaps in the "kittens for sale" section (I'm not quite clear on what that is). But YOU can go and get used to the atmosphere and see what's necessary--and have fun at the same time.

Showing HHP is a great way to start out, and everyone is friendly--not so much rivalry or "cattiness" as in the other classes. Between rings, you can sit in on other rings in the various classes (Championship, Kitten, Premiership) and learn about the different breeds. If you eventually decide to show a pedigreed cat, first you have to decide on which breed--I'm still not sure I really like Maine Coons that much! And there are too many of them! Also, once you DO decide on a breed, zero in on the rings featuring that breed so that you can see what kind of cat gets the points. Also familiarize yourself with the breed standards, available on the CFA website or in a pamphlet.

For those of you who have expressed an interest in showing purebred cats, if you have been to enough cat shows and seen enough cats being judged, you'll develop a good eye for quality cats (as well as for kittens that will grow up to be champions), and that's when you should take the plunge and buy your cat. Purebred cats are not cheap, but you don't always have to buy the most expensive cat to get a winner. Harvey was cheap for a Maine Coon in Japan, and yet (as of this writing), he's #1 in the Premiership Class in Japan, and the #10 Maine Coon in the Premiership Class internationally (his standing will undoubtedly go down as the show season goes into full swing in the fall). The secret is knowing what to look for (I didn't; I just lucked out); good grooming (this can't be emphasized enough, especially for a longhaired cat), and the cat's attitude (unfortunately, Harvey doesn't do too well in this department). Look at breeders' website and talk to breeders of your breed of choice at shows, and you'll get a feel for what to look for in a cat. If you're lucky, like some of us, you can buy a "pet quality" cat that's really a winner. In the end, though, the owner's effort is almost as important as the quality of the cat.

Sorry...more advice. Regarding socializing Fergie, if you live alone, have friends come over and make a fuss over her. If not, take her outside in a stroller or something to get her used to a new, noisy, people-filled environment. Some people advise keeping the tv on really loud (that's one thing I can't do, because I'm sensitive to noise, which is why my cats go berserk in the show halls). Also, practice getting her used to being posed on a table--look at my Harvey page to see some of the ways the judges will make the cat pose. Also practice with wand toys on the table. The judge will grasp the cat's head by the jaw and turn it upwards, with the cat's back to the judge, in order to see the configuration of the face. Some cats don't like this, so you might try practicing it. Also, cat shows mean cages--putting cats in and taking them out numerous times. If you have access to a cage, practice this (head first going in, hindquarters first coming out. But I've already explained that).

Here are some great sites that should help you. Check out the CFA website too if you haven't already. Showing is a fun, but kind of expensive hobby. I agree HHP is a great way to start! Linus and I also have several show photos in our photoalbums (mostly in Linus') if you want to look. Be sure to let us know when you make your show debut!

Oh, yes, a most expensive hobby. Forgot to add that. You can become a National Winner with a relatively cheap cat, if you choose wisely, but those entry fees and (if you choose) travel fees add up fast. People who get bitten by the cat show bug (which often escalates into the breeding bug, since you can't show the same cat forever, and always need fresh material) are usually wealthy (often independently wealthy) or so crazed that they dip into their savings to keep going, and save expenses by eating instant ramen for every meal, using only a single lightbulb, going without heat...seriously, the majority of the people I see every week at shows either drive Mercedes Benzes, or have only a single set of clothes. It's a very weird world. But obviously it appeals to some of us.

Hi Ferg,
We use F1R2 pet products for shampoos and whitening shampoos
check out their website, i dont know it offhand but google F1R2.
With my first order they sent me a free bottle of conditioner.
(weeooo)
My sisfur and I are CFA Region 1. Just turned Premiers last show in NJ in JULY. Contact me directly if you would like more information on grooming.
JBT'ers rock !

Is CFA that much different from TICA? I show in TICA in the HHP division. Mom was going to put me in the big TICA annual last weekend here in Arlington, TX but it was closed before she put my entry in. She could have kicked herself. Mom works is a retail manager and it is hard to go out of town, so we tend to stick with shows around here. We went to Waco about a year and a half ago and mom spent a lot of money! MOL There will be shows pretty close to us in the new couple of months, but dad is a retail manager also and we only have one car right now (and with the holidays coming up--phooey!). Mom is thinking about putting me in a CFA show if there are any soon because she is having cat show withdrawals.
The last time mom bathed me for a show in June, she diluted some Dawn dishwashing liquid in some warm water and bathed me in a tub of water. Then she rinsed it really well. She read about Dawn on a breeder's Web site when she was researching good shampoos for Manx cats.
I don't play with the judges much--mom wishes I would. And I'm the only kitty in the house with a temperament to be a show cat. Nigel gets grumpy sometimes (he would have been a good show cat when he was younger), Tabi is severly tempermental (she was nice when she was a kitten), Charlie doesn't like cat carriers at all (maybe something bad happened to him before he found us) and Isis...well she has the tortitude.
I have some simple show curtains that mom made me and we've used them for every show.
Cat cage curtains

Oh, and the Feliway spray was a good idea. Several months ago, mom got some of that Feliway spray on clearance at Petco for $1!!! Orignally $32. She sprayed my curtains with it and the inside of my carrier about 15 or so minutes before I got in it. And she sprayed a little in my cage at the show after she set it up.
My mom really didn't do anything special to get me used to cat shows. Dad is in a few bands, so there are always people coming over. But I am still shy though (Nigel is the outgoing one that always greets EVERYONE). Everyone loves Nigel.

Dad bought me some nip from a vendor once at a show because he was trying to make me more frisky. Well, I ate it instead of sniffing and playing with it. I think they say that we cats get more mellow when we eat it?So the catnip didn't help out.

Yes, it's nice to be on a thread where everyone is excited about showing. I was on another thread, asking about possibly medicating Harvey when he flies cargo to a show in Hokkaido, and someone started in on me about how I was cruel to be showing my cat when he hates every aspect of it (he doesn't) and whether I was showing my cat because I'm a BREEDER (obviously, the equivalent of a swear word to that person). Then I got the lecture about how dare I own pedigreed cats when so many cats are dying in shelters, etc. I replied that I didn't see any contradiction in loving both shelter moggies and pedigreed cats bought from breeders--they're all cats, and all precious, as far as I'm concerned.